Holiday Gift Guide: Fail-Safe Gifts for Men

The holiday season is a unique beast. Retail establishments, except Nordstrom, who gets props for giving turkey day its due, start decking the halls for Christmas the day after Halloween yet it always feels like Christmas creeps up on me. As we are now just a few short weeks away from the big day, all the gifts I have left to buy are for the men in my life. However, this is not because they are excruciatingly difficult to buy for (like my mother) but because they are easy. There are gifts that they will love no matter what their personality is or their relationship to you, whether it be husband, boyfriend, brother, or best friend.

Here are some fail-safe presents to get the men in your life:

1Watches. Most men don’t wear a lot of jewelry besides a watch so you can’t go wrong with adding to his collection. Try to pick a style he doesn’t have (i.e. if he has a metal watch think of getting him a leather one). Shopping tip: Certain brands, like the Danish Skagen, are ultra thin and work well under dress shirt cuffs.)

2LL Bean Slippers. They’re fuzzy and cozy and getting them their own pair will keep them from stealing yours.

3Robotic Vacuums. I can’t explain this one because I don’t get it. All I know is that more than one prominent male in my life has one and they tend to treat them like their children (don’t ask, just trust me).

4Aviators. They’re classic and go with every face shape. Stick with blacks and greys and you can’t go wrong.

5Luxury Shaving Kits. Men like to be pampered too and this brings the old-school barbershop shave into his own bathroom.

6Alcohol of Choice Clubs. There are a variety of Beer/Wine/Spirits of the month club that you can give membership to depending on his beverage preferences.

7Favorite Show Box Sets. They will never tire of watching that episode of Family Guy for the 800th time (and quote it to you repeatedly).

8And for fun, a Ninja Umbrella. Have you ever met a man who hasn’t let it slip at lease once that he wants to be a ninja?

Lauren is an avid environmental law enthusiast with a strong interest in international issues. She writes about professional attire and is constantly looking for what is new in the fashion world. Other interests include running, crew, kickboxing, and attempting to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie.

3 Comments

Unless you know that he already wears one, cross this off your list. Also, since you can only wear one at at time, yours will need to be nicer than the one he has, or else it’ll just end up at the bottom of his closet.

Favorite show box sets are also a bad idea. Yeah, the guy really likes the show, but you know what that means? If he wanted the box set, he’d have already bought it. So, either he does have it, or it’s something he doesn’t really want.

I used to think that about watches but predict they will come back strong, soon. As in smartwatches. Like this one: http://mashable.com/2011/12/29/im-watch-design/ No one likes fumbling for the cell phone all the time just to tell the time. Anyone want to get me this one for New Year’s?